Denial
by aminerklarinen
Summary: Neji Hyuuga didn't want to see it, but he did. And now he can't help it. Set in contrast to my other fanfic "Lies". Rated M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

"Ridiculous effort,"

Naruto Uzumaki didn't even flinch. It wasn't his first taste of undisguised scorn from his teachers. If he'd counted just how many he'd been through, he'd have lost count ages ago. Starting from fucking first grade.

He reached over and slid the six-page paper towards him until he was could see the red markings on the cover sheet: C, C…_D._

But of course.

"Maybe if you were a little more studious, you would've achieved better marks,"

Naruto glanced lazily at Neji Hyuuga, he was sitting beside him. The brown haired boy was wearing a smile that exuded nothing but smug confidence. Naruto didn't have to look at _his _cover sheet to know that he probably topped the class.

"You know me as well as anyone to know I hate studying," Naruto retorted.

Neji closed his eyes and chuckled. Naruto wondered how Neji could be so effortlessly … _cool. _He watched as Neji folded his arms on top of his paper, realizing for the umpteenth time that the Hyuuga was meticulous in just about everything he did. _He could probably pee in a perfect circle_ he thought. _I bet my apartment that when I ask him to pee with a radius of 2.51 centimetres, he can do it. _

"So when it's our final assessment…," Neji said slowly. He smiled again at Naruto, indicating that it was a sentence left unfinished for the purpose of an answer. Naruto shifted a little in his seat, making it creak loudly. "I guess I'd do some studying,"

"Some? That's generous," Neji raised a perfect eyebrow. Naruto wondered if he removed stray hairs with tweezers so that they'd look like that.

_Then again _Naruto thought, fiddling with the corners of his exam paper. _He's a Hyuuga. He was _born _perfect. _

"Yeah,"

Neji rolled his eyes. He was the only one who could tell he was, though, since his eyes were the same uniform colour the whole way. But he was rolling his eyes due to Uzumaki's lack of effort into schoolwork. He'd admit that he studied excessively, but at least he _studied. _Unlike someone. And given Naruto's short response, he knew their conversation was over.

_Neanderthal, _Neji thought.

When Neji returned home, he didn't bother telling his uncle what he'd gotten at school. Hinata would probably tell him anyway. He avoided talking to anyone as much as possible and waited for the bang of the door to tell him that Hinata had returned. Every day, he rushed out of school so he didn't have to walk with her. She walked so damn slow it irritated him to no end.

_Sometimes you should learn to slow down _a voice inside him said. _Then maybe you'll learn something new. _

"I've learnt many new things without slowing down," Neji said angrily under his breath as he poured himself some water and downed it quickly. He rinsed it quickly and was about to return to his room to unwind a little before some quiet afternoon training when someone knocked at his door.

He opened it. It was Kiba.

"Say it," Neji said. Rudely.

Kiba, as usual, had his hood up and the fur that fringed it was tickling his cheeks. Akamaru barked in what Neji supposed was a hello.

"Dunno," Kiba lifted and dropped one shoulder in a lazy shrug. "Just wanted to hang out with someone. And Shino's shit,"  
"Shit?" Neji repeated.

"Yeah he never does nothing," Kiba said.

Neji and Kiba had hung out before: more often outdoors than in. They'd never really done anything except perform each other's jutsu and asked for a commentary. Otherwise, they never really did anything friendly. Their relationship was more of a friendly acquaintance: they offered advice, comments but nothing personal. Secrets and the like were out of bounds.

Neji smiled. "Of course. It's Shino. You're not meant to expect anything,"

"I guess. Wanna go to the park?"

Neji nodded at the odd request. The park…he hadn't been there since he was, what, five? Six? Of course he passed it every day when he went to school and back but other than that he had nothing to do with the park. He wondered why Kiba wanted to go there of all places.

_Play with Akamaru? _

"So my test results were crap," Kiba said as they walked. Akamaru was running ahead. "My mum's gonna kill me. My sister is gonna pay me out...," Kiba paused and looked at Neji, who was looking dead ahead, practically unblinking. "…and of course you get top marks. Without trying,"

"I do try," Neji replied readily. "I study,"

"I study too," Kiba said. "You don't have to. You're naturally smart. Asshole," he gave Neji a friendly punch.

Neji smiled and stepped into the park. "So what are we doing?"

"Nothing much," Kiba said, shrugging that lazy shrug again. Neji could instantly tell from this that something was definitely up. Kiba Inuzuka never had nothing planned. Neji didn't need a nose like a dog's to smell that.

He decided not to say anything about it. It was most likely something extremely immature and stupid, given Kiba's rambunctious and impulsive nature, and also something that Neji would walk out of unscathed. He didn't need to be worried.

A few moments passed. The park was silent. Then Kiba grabbed Neji's wrist. On impulse, Neji was about to pull back when Kiba put a finger to his lips. It became apparent that he'd heard something Neji hadn't.

Neji fought back the question _what? _But he knew better. He let Kiba lead him around the park, winding through the stuff that was scattered around it.

For once in his life Neji was completely lost and had no idea what was going on. He was about to start thinking about what could be happening when Kiba stopped and turned to Neji. Akamaru was panting quietly at Neji's heel.

"Stay here. And use your Byakugan,"

Before Neji could say anything, Kiba had walked off. He sighed loudly, crossed his arms, and activated his Byakugan. He suddenly saw everything, three sixty degrees. He didn't need to, but he did. He saw Kiba's form. His eyes strayed beyond that. Kiba had his jacket off. It was lying behind him.

Neji narrowed his eyes at the figure standing in Kiba's path.

_What the fuck?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Wait, wait, wait…what am I _supposed _to be seeing? _

Neji fought the urge to just close his eyes and walk away. His Byakugan wasn't to be used for such reasons. But scandalous happenings were almost irresistible, even to the most emotionally hardened. No exceptions.

Neji glanced down at Akamaru for any indications as to what his master was up to: not that Neji was really expecting a complete answer from a _canine…_but at least he might get a sense of what was coming for him.

Akamaru had sensed Neji's gaze and had turned his head to look back at him. Neji couldn't confirm it but the small dog seemed to say _just keep watching: it'll be worth it! _

He scoffed aloud. Was he going insane? Akamaru was a _dog. _He was no better at telling Neji about missions than Naruto.

Neji averted his attention back at Kiba, who was now standing right in front of that…_person. _Neji never imagined that it would be him that was standing there. Naruto, maybe, Shino, not likely, Chouji, sickening, but yeah, Shikamaru, possible, but _heck no _given his apathetic nature, but…

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Neji whispered under his breath. Akamaru whimpered in response and wagged his tail, looking up at Neji again as if appeased by his identification of the boy. The Hyuuga wanted to slap himself. _I. Am. Not. Conversing. With. A dog. _

"Hey, Sasuke,"

Kiba waved a little at Sasuke, who, as always, stood cool and collected. Even though he wasn't leaning on anything, he looked comfortable the way he was: spine erect, arms folded and everything else immaculate.

Sasuke nodded a little. Although there was something nice about having Kiba around—he was always fun to be with, or to watch—there was a bad taste in his mouth. It was slightly metallic, like blood mixed with something. But it wasn't the taste that was bothering him: it was the reason why it was there.

A reason which his usual quick logic was struggling to place.

Kiba didn't take Sasuke's silence as a sign of abstinence: in a motion Neji could only call deft, he stepped over and—

Neji was revolted.

His first reaction was to turn around and walk away—_slowly…_with_out _the Byakugan. But he couldn't tear his eyes away; it was just that…

What? Attractive? Did Neji Hyuuga really find two guys kissing something so entertaining and provocative he couldn't look away?

_No…_Neji chided himself. But this time, even he knew that he was in self denial. _Denial is a powerful coping mechanism _a voice inside him rebutted. _But the truth always prevails. _

Sasuke was surprised at Kiba's sudden…attack. It wasn't like Kiba was never one to initiate a good make out session—he was—but this time the vibes were just _different._

_And I sound like a psychotic retard, _Sasuke thought as Kiba drew away to take a breath or whatever before he kissed him again. _But seriously: what is it? _

Neji put his hand up to his mouth. No, not to lick it or anything sick like that; he merely wanted to physically barricade his mouth so that nothing would come out of it. And because he was blushing insanely. And, like Hinata, his milky-pale skin gave away a blush like someone grabbing a microphone and announcing it.

"Fuck this," he said into his hand. Even though it was significantly muffled, Akamaru turned around and scolded his language with a short bark. He gave the small dog a glare and then turned to walk away, ready to nail the training exercises his uncle was going to set out for him.

"Okay, what was the fucking point of showing me that?!"

Neji gave Kiba a violent push against the wall, both palms on Kiba's shoulders. He searched for any sign of remorse on Kiba's features but, as usual, there was none. Kiba never really regretted what he did unless he'd caused major damage to the people he cared about. And Neji was _not _someone he really cared about.

"Relax, man," Kiba held up both his palms in defeat, and gave Neji a shrug that said _it's no biggie. _

_No biggie my fucking—_

"Don't tell me to relax," Neji said huffily. He'd stopped casting spiteful looks at Kiba when he realized he would gain much more if he acted like the kissing he'd witnessed only bothered him a little: if it looked like it didn't trouble him much maybe Kiba wouldn't try to do it again.

Right. He rendezvoused with Kiba out here in the dead of the night because he was only, you know, a _teensy_ bit annoyed from the kissing he'd witnessed earlier.

"Look, all it was meant to tell you was that Sasuke's…," Kiba trailed off. And grinned knowingly at Neji. Neji wanted to rip out his teeth.

"Okay. I'll give you that. So now I know Sasuke's gay. Now let me reword my question a little: so what, now, is the fucking point of telling me that Sasuke is _gay_?"

"Hey! Don't say it that loudly!" Kiba glowered at Neji for a second before his face reverted into its normal display of irritating cheek. "We're kinda standing in a wide open area in the middle of the damn night,"

"Right. _Sorry_," Neji replied sarcastically. He looked to their left, which was the only entrance from the village to the field they were standing in. "Just tell me the point,"

"No point," Kiba said, smiling. "Other than to let you know. Cause you seem like the type to be interested,"

Neji twitched.

"Interested? What do you mean interested?"

"You know…if you want to…Sasuke's available…,"

"Well I'm not interested," Neji snapped, a little too quickly. Kiba noticed and laughed. He laid a hand on Neji's shoulder and leaned in. His usual confidence didn't diminish when he was inching in towards Neji's face. Neji couldn't help it. He was mesmerized: having never been to such an extent with someone made the moment feel more extraordinary than anything else.

He came to his senses within the last picoseconds.

Snapping out of Kiba's trance, Neji gave the other guy a light push, not nearly half as violent as the one he'd rewarded him with at the beginning of their meeting, as if indicating that he'd really like to but…

"Not ready, huh?" Kiba quipped as Neji walked away.

Neji ignored him.

Kiba shook his head and laughed to himself. That Neji was never going to give in to what he really wanted: he was way too proud for that. But Kiba knew. He'd tested the waters. He didn't really mean to actually kiss Neji anyway. He would've stopped and teased him about how he'd always known he wasn't straight as an arrow.

_But _that _reaction was even more effective, _Kiba thought, grinning so widely his cheeks were hurting. He'd nailed them _both. _Neji and Sasuke…a Hyuuga and an Uchiha. Powerful and dignified clans.

With successors that were…

…_gay. I'm not gay. _Neji grit his teeth as he pushed open the gate to his house. His stomach felt uneasy, his temples were pounding and his throat felt sand paper-dry. He was wondering what he was going to do tomorrow at school.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto, for some reason, was the first to notice that there was something off about Neji Hyuuga that morning. Aside from Kiba, of course, who was the inducer of the Hyuuga's sudden touchiness. Not only that, he was also exploiting his new found knowledge of Neji's sexuality and was taunting him during the worst possible moments of class.

During recess, despite his usually can't-be-fucked nature, Naruto approached Neji carefully and sat down beside him on the bench.

"Are you okay?"

Neji grimaced. It wasn't because it was Naruto—caveman—but it was because Naruto was _male. _Yesterday's confrontation of his true self—ahem, _sexuality_—had left him feeling uneasy whenever a guy around his age came about. So far, with the exception of Kiba's taunts, it had been good. Thanks to his frosty attitude whenever it came to building friendships hardly anyone ever approached him for small talk. He only counted Kiba, Shino and Rock Lee among those who did. Rock Lee lost some credibility as one of these people because he was in his team. Girls didn't count at the moment.

Naruto noticed the grimace and chose to back off a little. He didn't want to make Neji touchier than he already was. At least in these small situations he knew when he should tread carefully without anyone actually telling him with exasperation and/or annoyance dripping from their words.

Neji cast him a sideways look that said _fuck off _and _its okay. I won't bite _at the same time.

"I guess I'm okay,"

"Are you sick or something?"

Neji shook his head lightly, like he was afraid that his brain would fall out of his skull if he shook it too violently. Naruto, on the other hand, took the shake of the head as a basis point for worry: Neji didn't shake his head. Ever. If he thought you were stupid, he'd make a snide remark. If he thought you were being annoying, he'd raise an eyebrow—make that a perfect eyebrow—and walk away wordlessly. If he thought you were mocking him, he'd make a comment on how immature you were being.

But he never shook his head as a response. Or nodded. It just wasn't _him._

"Right. Should I be going then?"

Neji paused, in thought about the question. Did he want Naruto to stay? Did he want _Naruto_?

He glanced up instinctively and saw Kiba looked at him. He winked knowingly. The edge of Neji's mouth twitched. He looked up at Naruto.  
"Just go,"

Neji knew it was bad for him. But he gave in. He had to. He couldn't sit back and watch. He needed to do something.

_Don't you mean do _someone_? _

"What a tacky joke," Neji muttered to himself. He stopped in front of Kiba's house. He looked at it in a way he'd never looked at it before. He'd been around to Kiba's a few times before. He, apparently, was "always welcome" according to Kiba's mum but "a nuisance" according to Neji's uncle. The place was nice. It had the family touch Neji's lacked. It wasn't that there was no warmth—there was—it was just that Hyuugas were somewhat immaculate creatures. They just didn't want some random camel ornament simply because it was carved out of the sacred wood of a species of tree whose name couldn't be pronounced without a specialized phonetics lesson. Not that the Inuzukas had one of those, but you know what Neji means.

Neji pushed the gate open and knocked on the door. Kiba's mother directed him to Kiba's room. Neji took the stairs as quietly as possible. Kiba's door was open.

"_Hey," _Kiba got up from his desk when he saw Neji and grinned. "I knew you'd come,"

Neji narrowed his eyes. Kiba laughed.

"Just come in and shut the door,"

Neji froze for a moment, swallowed a mouthful of saliva in an attempt to soothe his dry throat, and turned to close the door. It made a loud click as it shut.

"So I knew you'd come," Kiba began, gesturing towards his bed for Neji to sit on. "But I dunno what you'd want. What _do _you want?"

Neji sat on the bed tentatively. He didn't know where this afternoon was going to lead him. He partially didn't care. He glanced out Kiba's window then back at Kiba himself.

"Never talk about…_that…_in class. Ever again,"

Kiba smiled. It was more of a half smile, one that said _that wasn't what I was expecting._ In other words, Kiba was disappointed at Neji's choice of topic.

"What about to Sasuke? Can I tell him?"

"No!" Neji got up and touched Kiba on the arm.

After a while, he regained his composure and sat back down on the bed. Kiba was watching him. Too closely. It made Neji kind of uncomfortable, like Kiba was scrutinizing everything he did. He made it seem like everything he did, everything he said was a red siren for _gay. _

"Neji Hyuuga," Kiba chuckled. "I know what riles you up now,"

"Shut up," Neji blushed again.

_How adorable _Kiba thought. He looked like a girl. He got up and walked over to Neji. Slowly. The same approach he took when he was trying to nab Sasuke. He saw Neji tense up, but he didn't move away. He bent over. Leaned down. Put his face close to Neji's. Cheek to cheek.

"My mum never comes in to check on me," Kiba said softly. Neji felt the skin on his cheek tickle.

Neji's bottom lip quivered. He got the same feeling as yesterday. He was about to lean in to kiss Kiba when he felt a bad taste in his mouth. It was metallic, like blood mixed with something.

Sounds familiar…


	4. Chapter 4

When Sasuke saw what he'd seen, he was pretty sure of one thing.

He was going to ask Neji out.

It wasn't that he suddenly had the urge to hook up with the Hyuuga because he'd just found out he was the same as he was, that is, interested in guys, and he desperately wanted an actual relationship: it was _partially _because he'd always held somewhat of an interest in Neji. _I mean, who hasn't? Who couldn't? _Sasuke smiled at his own indolence and bit his thumb. He'd seen enough.

* * *

Kiba kept his tongue in Neji's mouth longer than what was necessary. He knew Sasuke had been watching. He also knew Sasuke had left. But it felt nice. And it was Neji Hyuuga; he wanted to relish the moment as much as he'd relished when he first kissed Sasuke Uchiha. And it didn't seem like Neji was going to stop anytime soon. Kiba was surprised at how good he was. But then again, he _was _Neji: he didn't need to study for an exam to ace it. Similarly, he didn't have to be taught to totally nail a kiss.

Neji had one arm wrapped around Kiba's neck. His other was on Kiba's shoulder. He was in an unsteady position, ready to fall back whenever, and normally he wasn't a fan of instability, but this wasn't a normal situation. Kiba's lips were actually softer than he'd thought: he'd always thought they were kind of dry and disgusting. But now that they weren't he was thankful. Kiba put his hands slowly on Neji's thighs. One on each. He waited for a flinch, but he didn't get one. He inched them towards the edge of Neji's shirt and brushed his finger across the slice of skin between the edge of the shirt and the top of his pants.

Neji got goosebumps, but didn't stop. Instead, he repressed his nerves and pulled Kiba in a little closer, for once in his life unafraid to let go and not annoyed at Kiba's fur-lined hood. Right now, it actually felt kind of sexy. It kind of set the mood.

Kiba pulled away, unlocking his tongue from Neji's now eager one with slight difficulty, the tongue was a muscle after all, and looked the Hyuuga straight in his literally blank eyes.

"So…how far are you willing to go?"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Do you _need _to ask?"

There was a touch of impatience in his voice, which Kiba found dead attractive.

"But now that I've asked," Kiba chirped. "What's the answer?"  
Neji sighed, his breath tickling Kiba. "Can we just do what we've been doing? If that's okay with you? This _is _my first time kissing another person, you know. Let's not make it into my first time for the other thing too,"

"That," Kiba said slowly. "Has to be the longest speech I've ever heard you make. I know you were being cynical, but…,"

Neji didn't answer. The corners of his mouth turned up in an endearing smile.

* * *

That night, Neji lay in bed recalling the afternoon. He was lying on his back, looking at the ceiling. The window was open and moonlight cast his room in a soft white haze.

It wasn't Kiba. It was the stuff they did. Neji was pretty sure they didn't do that because they liked each other. He didn't feel the chemistry and, quite obviously, neither did Kiba. Otherwise he wouldn't have asked him how far he was willing to go. A person like Kiba as a person who truly liked the person they were questioning would've just ventured into the next phase. Hesitantly, but surely. Neji hugged himself, rubbing both his arms. All they'd done in the end was make out, get partially naked and make out so more. With some feeling up in the midst of it. Even though it was hardly, well, _sex, _it wore Neji out. Afterwards, he had to take many short breaths until he felt relaxed again. His chest still tingled from where Kiba had slowly slid his hands up and down. It had felt like Kiba was trying to map out Neji's chest by touch. His fingers brushed against every patch of skin he had there.

Neji smiled to himself. Then he fell asleep.

* * *

Kiba licked his lips. Hyuuga and Uchiha. Both great kissers. It was unbelievable. He contemplated on whether or not to move on to the other, he supposed, "lesser" clans like the Naara when he suddenly had the wild idea of testing if Sakura was straight or not. He laughed to himself. Akamaru barked in response. Kiba reached over, picked Akamaru up, and laid him on his chest.

"Hey Akamaru," he whispered. "We have a new mission,"

* * *

The next day, Sasuke could do nothing but look at Neji. In light of what he now knew, he wondered how he was going to approach the ice king. He'd seen the Hyuuga brush off potential friends/lovers/both as easily as brushing off a damn fly. It was kind of intimidating, even for an Uchiha like himself. Not to say _he _wasn't frosty either but at least he talked to the girls that mustered up the courage to approach him.

He tapped his pencil on the edge of his desk. Shikamaru glanced over at him, slightly annoyed at the sharp noise. In truth, Sasuke was trying to catch Neji's attention. But as always, Neji's eyes and ears—and attention—never strayed from the teacher or the whiteboard.

_Hey…isn't that a good thing? _Sasuke thought, licking his lips at the racy scenario that had just popped into his lascivious mind. _Just imagine…he had his eyes on you. You were undressing. He was watching you. Very attentive…then…he'd watch you as you started to undress _him—

Sasuke snapped out of his reverie when he heard Neji's voice. He had been asked a question by the teacher.

"I'm okay, sir," Neji was saying. Sasuke cocked his head. Did Neji space out like he had or something? What was wrong?

"Neji," the teacher began. "I know you're studious, and I understand that your, ah, uncle has high expectations for you but you mustn't push yourself too far. If you feel sick, you should tell me,"

"No, I'm serious," Neji said again. His voice was smooth as usual, but Sasuke kind of noticed that it sounded less grim and more…_happy. _

Sasuke tuned out again and smiled happily to himself. That was a relief. Neji was in a good mood today.

_Hey, what makes you think you'll have the balls to ask him _today_? _Sasuke's inner voice teased. Sasuke put a hand over his stomach, as if the voice has emanated from there.

"Oh, shut up," he whispered. Shikamaru glanced at him, giving him an odd look. Sasuke did nothing. The chances were he wasn't going to have the guts to ask Neji _today. _He was most likely going to run to Kiba for some advice or something. But then again, probably not. Kiba was kind of unreliable when it came to love advice. Sasuke didn't know this for sure—he'd never asked Kiba for any sort of relationship advice—but he "just knew" that Kiba was one of the types of people you wanted to avoid when it came to relationship-initiating-techniques.

Sasuke decided he was going to go straight to the source: talk to Neji. Then _eventually _ask him out...


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke had never actually been to the Hyuuga household before. Sure, he'd passed the prominent complex, but he'd never actually been _inside it. _Sometimes, the main doors were open and he'd be able to look in but other than that he had the Hyuuga house had no past interactions. He wondered fleetingly if he'd looked kind of suspicious popping up randomly and asking for Neji. He wondered if Hiashi would welcome him. Last of all, he wondered if he was overanalyzing the situation.

_Grow some balls, Sasuke _he thought, digging his fingers into his palm. _You're a guy. He's a guy. Hiashi's not gonna suspect anything. _

Sasuke raised a hand to knock when the door opened. He half-expected to see Hiashi there, baring his teeth at him and calling him names when he saw Hinata. She was still dressed as she was at school. She blushed and took an involuntary step back when she saw that it was Sasuke.

"H-hey S-sa…,"

_Oh shit…don't start stuttering, _Sasuke grumbled in his head. _You're gonna start making _me _stutter. _

"Hey Hinata," he said as quietly as he could without it turning into a whisper. He didn't want to tell Neji he was coming. He wanted to surprise him. "I'm here to see Neji. Is he around?"  
If Hinata suspected anything, she didn't show it. And if she didn't show it, it meant she had no such suspicion. She as Hinata Hyuuga for Jashin's sake. She couldn't hide crap.

She nodded, obviously not trusting her voice to speak.

_Christ, girl, I can hear your heart beat from here. _

"Neji…he's with father right now,"

Sasuke almost sighed in disappointment, but caught himself just in time. "That's okay. I'll come back later,"

"I'm s-sure father won't mind if he leaves for a moment…,"

"No," Sasuke held up a hand. "I don't want to bother Hiashi. I'll just come back later. When'll he—Neji, I mean—be free?"

Hinata bit her lip. "After dinner," she whispered in her shy, lilting voice. "Should I tell him you came?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. It's fine. It's not that important," _Actually, it heck yeah is. _

Hinata nodded. She stepped out. Sasuke moved out of her way. She shut the main gate quietly.

"I…I'm just going out to buy something," she told him. She smiled wordlessly at Sasuke before hurrying off down the road. Sasuke cocked his head. He would never understand that girl.

* * *

Neji was in the bath when Hiashi told him that he had a visitor. Rather than telling him the name of said visitor, his uncle conveniently told him he was waiting in Neji's room and left.

_Very helpful, uncle _Neji thought glumly. He rubbed the dampened, warm towel over one of his slender arms and watched the water drip from the cloth to his skin. He wondered who the visitor was. It could've been Kiba but Kiba…no, it wasn't Kiba. This morning Kiba hadn't even given him the slightest fraction of his attention. The weirdo royalty had seemed to move on, and had begun to ridicule Sakura Haruno.

Not wanting to keep his unknown visitor waiting, Neji placed the towel to the side, stepped out, dried himself and dressed. Whenever he wasn't training or at school, he wore a simple, thin white shirt and a random pair of black shorts. He tied his hair back, not caring that that would only prolong the amount of time for his hair to dry, and headed to his room.

When he saw that his visitor was Sasuke Uchiha, several things hit him at once.

_Oh, so this is why Hiashi wouldn't tell me who it was. It's an Uchiha. Still kind of notable. If it was Naruto or something he would've made a snide comment. _

_What the hell is he doing here? _And

_What does he want? _

"Hey, Neji," Sasuke had his hands in his pockets and had been staring out the window before he'd noticed Neji. It reminded Neji of himself. He, too, did that often.

"Hey,"

Sasuke shivered despite the warm evening. He didn't know how he was going to break such an awkward topic to Neji. Especially in his own house, with his uncle around. He knew there was some little girl in the mix but he'd never met her and didn't think she was going to be much of a nuisance/threat.

"Um…," Sasuke crossed his arms and then dropped them. Neji said nothing. Sasuke knew he had just come out from a bath and he was still kind of…_wet. _The cotton shirt was clinging slightly to his body and it looked…

…_good. _Sasuke thought, willing himself not to get too aroused.

"I was just wondering…,"

Neji decided to ignore Sasuke's apparent nervousness. He had to admit, he was nervous too, but he didn't know what Sasuke wanted, and, thus, couldn't take over the situation.

Neji caught Sasuke's gaze and something in them told Sasuke to stop talking for a sec. Neji walked over to his door and shut it. There was a lock on it, Sasuke could see that, but Neji didn't touch that.

"Does that help?" he asked. His voice was like music to Sasuke's ears all of a sudden. It was probably because they were now in a room together. Alone. No chance of their conversation being overheard through the door unless someone was sticking their ears there. And he knew Hiashi wasn't that type of person. He was the type that believed that the less he knew about something, the better.

Sasuke nodded. "I—,"

Neji had found his verdict. The Sasuke Uchiha standing in front of him right now was damn nervous. If Sasuke had come to ask him about schoolwork, he wouldn't be stumbling over his own words. And that situation wasn't even realistic. Sasuke was just as bright as Neji was. A little less smart, but smart nevertheless. If he'd come to ask Neji something about a little help with training, he wouldn't be doing that either. Another unrealistic situation. Sasuke didn't ask for help. Apparently he didn't need any. So…

Neji walked over, passed Sasuke and looked out the window. He pulled the curtains together, turned around to shut the lights in the room, closed his hands around Sasuke's cheeks and pressed his mouth onto the Uchiha's.


	6. Chapter 6

Sasuke's head pounded. His pulse was doubling and his lower jaw was slightly aching. His heart itself, even though he was pretty sure it was just a figment of his imagination, felt like it was, not matter how clichéd it sounded to anyone, about to _explode. _It had all happened so damn fast that Sasuke had had hardly any time to react properly. So he'd just sat there, on the bed, and let Neji go commando. Not that it was such a hard thing to do. Neji was really…_patient. _And gentle. It was almost motherly, but not in a creepy way. Like he had no intention of hurting Sasuke, and was avoiding hurt and pain at all costs, even if it meant they had to go a little slower.

Neji's mouth left Sasuke's and he stayed there for a beat, their lips only a breath apart, before he straightened and switched the lights back on, all in one fluid motion. Sasuke licked his lips, not wanting the feeling of Neji's lips on his to diminish, and exhaled loudly.

"So that's what makes Sasuke Uchiha smile," Neji commented, grabbing the chair that was tucked under his desk and sitting on it. Sasuke laughed softly.

"It wasn't just that…," Sasuke's eyes flicked all over Neji's torso. "It was your goddamn _shirt_,"

"My shirt?" Neji looked down at himself curiously and lifted—no, _peeled—_the white garment off his skin. He looked at Sasuke. "So you're a fan of wet shirts?"

"_No_," Sasuke replied. He tore his eyes away from Neji's gaze. "Just when you're wearing them,"

"Then I'm flattered," Neji said. He seemed to be unsure of whether or not to take the shirt or leave it on, clinging to his body such that his skin was entirely visible. In the end, he let it drop.

There was an awkward silence.

"So…," Sasuke began, wanting desperately to continue where they'd left off so suddenly. "What's this mean?"  
"It means, Sasuke," Neji said, his tone serious all of a sudden. It made him a little worried. "Kiba Inuzuka is somewhat of a cupid,"  
"What?"  
Neji smiled at Sasuke's reaction to his out of the blue mention of Kiba. "I knew someone was watching me when he and I kissed. It was you, wasn't it?"

Sasuke's mind was blank for a moment, then it whirred into motion, linking ideas, creating theories and drawing conclusions. "And…you were there when I kissed him, right?"

Neji nodded. "Our body is somewhat able to tell if somebody is watching us, regardless of whether we can actually see that person. It's like an instinct,"

Sasuke nodded slowly. "I guess I detected something. I just couldn't place what it was,"

"Same here," Neji agreed. "The thing is, I wonder why Kiba did it. He's not _that _nice, is he?"  
"He can be…um…I can't think of the right word but Kiba can be pretty damn fantastic if he wants to be. It's just that…what gave him the idea?"  
Neji didn't say anything. He looked out the window. Then he turned to look at Sasuke again.

"Maybe we should stop questioning it and just appreciate his help. How's that sound?"

Sasuke smiled widely. "Great,"

"Now get out of here," Neji said. "Hiashi'll get suspicious of why we're talking for so long,"

"But we're both _guys…_," Sasuke began, knowing he sounded kind of desperate. But he couldn't help it. They hadn't done anything particularly…big…yet.

_Oh God, calm down _Sasuke thought, chiding himself. _It's even the first date yet and you're already complaining about the lack of action. _

Neji shrugged. "You know Hyuugas. They will suspect and expect anything and everything, no matter how absurd or unlikely it may seem. And my uncle's no exception. Neither am I,"

"What about Hinata?"

Neji's eyes flashed and his face clouded over for a moment. Sasuke was about to apologize, but stopped himself in time. Neji seemed to be thinking hard. Finally, he spoke.

"She is the epitome of exceptions. She doesn't fit in this family,"

Sasuke winced inwardly. The voice was cold, but didn't sound bitchy. It sounded like a simple statement of the truth. Even if it was kind of, well, exaggerated. He didn't know what to say, so he just got up and shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly, ready to go.

"Sorry," Neji said. "It's just…it's just her,"

Sasuke shook his head. He hadn't actually ever minded Neji's arrogant attitude towards the people around him. He deserved to have it, in a way. At least he wasn't overly cocky and incredibly weak. At least he could walk the walk _and _talk the talk.

Sasuke took both of Neji's hands in his own and leaned forward to kiss him. It was a light one. No tongue. Just the simple meeting of two mouths***. **Then Neji opened the door and led him out.

Hiashi didn't say anything.

* * *

**(*Random Author's Note: Did anyone else think of Deidara when they read this? When I was writing it, I thought of him and his two hands. How awkward…)

* * *

**

"Why are _you _so happy today?"

Naruto gave Sasuke a light shove as they walked towards the bridge to meet Kakashi. Usually, Sasuke would've turned around and returned the shove, but this time, he just smiled to himself and walked a little faster. Naruto and Sakura exchanged looks and jogged to catch up with him again.

"Sasuke?" Sakura tried. Sasuke being depressed and Sasuke being overly happy didn't fly by her: she always wanted to know _why. Was it Ino? Did they…? _

Sasuke ignored his team members. Ever since this morning when he woke up he was lost in his own little world. It was a Friday, which meant there were no classes residing in the Ninja Academy. Fridays were entirely reserved for dogged team training.

"No seriously," Naruto tried, cocking his head at Sasuke's sudden bubbly air. "What'd you do? Did you find lots of money somewhere, or…?"

Sasuke stopped. Sakura and Naruto stopped. He looked at each of them in turn. _It's okay to reveal a little, I suppose. _

"If you must know," Sasuke said slowly, elongating the suspense that he had just implanted inside the other two. "I—,"

"Hey, guys,"

Kakashi waved a little and shoved his hands back in his pockets as he approached.

_Damn _Naruto thought, laughing a little at the coincidence of the arrival of Kakashi and Sasuke's revelation.

_Oh fucking hell, Master Kakashi _Sakura cursed. _Nice timing, as always._

"Naruto, Sakura," Kakashi nodded as he said their names. "Go the field up ahead. Master Gai and his team will meet you there. I have something to say to Sasuke,"

The two departed, with curious glances back at Sasuke, who ignored their looks and was at present trying to come up with what possible things Kakashi wanted to say to him, personally…_privately. _He had an uneasy feeling at the bottom of his stomach.

There was a tensed silence. Kakashi tended to be pretty dramatic and loved using theatrics to scare his team. But today wasn't one of _those _days. This time, he had something serious, very serious, to _ask _Sasuke about.

"Sasuke…,"

He paused, his throat clogged, unable to continue. The idea of Sasuke and Neji being together made him kind of sick. It wasn't that he was opposed to the idea—that wasn't him—but…

"I know," Sasuke interrupted Kakashi's thoughts. He looked at the young Uchiha. He could see what made him so attractive, but he still couldn't perceive how _Neji _of all people was attracted to him such that he would act on it. He'd always bet that Sakura would get Sasuke, not Ino, and they'd have a rocky and, well, bad relationship. But at least it could've been announced and out in the open. Sasuke and Neji could never be.

"I know you know about Neji and I,"

Kakashi's eyes widened.

And he winced.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke watched Kakashi closely, looking for any signs of disgust. Not to say he didn't notice the older man cringe—he did—but that had been his initial reaction when Kiba had imposed his interest in guys only on Sasuke. It was a common reaction, not the normal reaction, but the one that Sasuke expected most.

"So what're you gonna do about it?" Sasuke asked, breaking the silence. He glanced behind Kakashi's shoulder. Naruto and Sakura were out of sight. He didn't even bother questioning Kakashi's knowledge of Sasuke and Neji's kissing yesterday night. Kakashi Hatake was a see-all, know-all ninja, the types that pissed you off because they knew you better than you knew yourself.

"Nothing," Kakashi said, a little too quickly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sasuke, I'm being serious here. I'm not going to stop you or anything, it's just that—,"

"Do I have any idea how bad it would be if it got out? Yes, I do,"

Kakashi shrugged. "I'm not saying anything,"

"Does anyone else know?"

"No," Kakashi said. "And I don't intend to tell anyone, either. It's not exactly the right staffroom gossip,"

Sasuke shrugged. "If that's the case," he said, looking over in the direction Naruto and Sakura had gone. _Master Gai and his team will meet you there..._Kakashi had said. Did that mean?

"Yes," Kakashi said, following Sasuke's thoughtful gaze. "I thought it'd be nice that to invite my good friend Gai to practice with us today. But before you ask, it wasn't intentional. I organized it before you and Neji...,"

Sasuke nodded, ignoring him. "Right,"

"I can make sure you two are paired up if you want," Kakashi offered, awkwardly.

Sasuke smiled, his eyes flicking back to Kakashi again, who felt slightly overwhelmed by the boy's sudden happy and confident air. Well, Sasuke was always confident, but...

_Oh I know what I mean..._Kakashi thought.

The two headed to the field.

When Neji had seen Naruto and Sakura his first reaction was to think that something was up. Before now, he'd always thought luck didn't exist. Now he did.

Kakashi looked at Neji, who looked serious and somewhat blank as always, and headed to Gai, who was busy prepping up Rock Lee, who practically had flames burning in both his eyes as he repeated Gai's "wise" words.

"Hello, Kakashi," Gai said, his hands on his hips. "I--,"

"Hello, Master Kakashi!" Rock Lee broke in, saluting Kakashi, who awkwardly waved back.

"Ah, Lee. On the ball as always," Gai said. "Anyway, what I was saying is that I hardly organized anything for us to do today. Usually I like playing little games where—."

"God, _no_, Gai sensei," Tenten rolled her eyes. "These little games involve wearing those jumpsuits and, like, coming up with the most creative way of avoiding obstacles," she whispered to Sakura, who laughed.

"Obstacles!" Naruto burst. "They sound fun! Hey, Kakashi, how come we never play games?"

"Too busy readings books," Sasuke said coolly.

"Tsk, tsk, Kakashi," clucked Gai. "Keep the youth in these youths by letting them to youthful stuff! Don't make them read books with you!"

Sasuke didn't bother to correct him.

"I have an idea," Kakashi said, looking at Sasuke. "Pair up, okay?"

* * *

"I suppose it's okay if he doesn't plan to do anything with that knowledge,"

Neji scratched his blemish-free nose. "The only downside is that now someone else will know we're up to something,"

"Kiba's not much of a threat either," Sasuke said.

"So we're okay," Neji continued. There was noone within their vicinity at the moment. At least, noone his Byakugan could detect. Sasuke had always admired the Byakugan, but right now he kind of resented it. Neji had said earlier, after they'd paired up and separated from the rest of the group, that he wasn't going to make out with Sasuke because the vision the Byakugan gave him made him uncomfortable and he didn't want to kiss someone at the same time that he could see chakra throwing through their bodies. Sasuke had almost suggested that he turn the Byakugan _off _but then he realized that they were in the middle of a training exercise and, even though he and Neji were _obviously _the best out of the pairs, they couldn't run the risk.

"Lee's fast," Neji had said. It was the closest thing to a compliment that he had ever said, and he'd half wished that Lee was around to hear it. But then again, that was probably a bad wish.

"So back to the task at hand, you two,"

Kakashi dropped in. He was glad to see they hadn't been distracted...doing something else.

_At least they know when to keep on track..._Kakashi thought. _I'm thankful for that. _

Neji sniffed softly and ignored Kakashi, his arms crossed as usual. Sasuke nodded slightly. He realized he _had _to ask.

"Wait a moment, Kakashi sensei," he said. He paused, glancing at Neji, who was looking away but he knew he was listening. "Can I ask you something?"

Kakashi itched the back of his head. "Yeah sure. Why not, while I'm here,"

"How'd you know?"

Kakashi forced himself not to hesitate. _Come on, Hatake, you knew this was coming..._

_Actually, I didn't._

"Did you see us?" Neji said, without turning around. His self control was unusually strong. He was _still _facing the other way, even though he didn't need to with the Byakugan running.

"No," Kakashi replied. "But I did see you and Kiba...Neji,"

Neji did some sort of little twitch and turned around. He looked somewhat angry, his lips slightly parted in surprise. Sasuke himself froze too. What was Kakashi talking about?

"What, in his house?" Neji demanded.

"No," Kakashi said, glancing at Sasuke. "In the field at midnight,"  
"Oh," Neji said almost immediately. "But my...," he stopped. "It wasn't so apparent then. He and I didn't even do anything,"

"Kiba's good," Kakashi said. "He got such a reaction from out of _you, _Neji. That's saying something about how much he knows about the human nature and how even a Hyuuga can't hide his true emotions,"

Neji shrugged.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked.

"Ask Neji yourself later," Kakashi said. "But I just want to say that, Neji, that reaction told Kiba and I the same thing. And judging by Kiba and Sasuke's past interactions, it was obvious what that guy was up to,"

Kakashi stopped.

"That asshole," Sasuke said, smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

"So what'd you guys do in the field?" Sasuke asked, unable to hold the question back any longer. He and Neji hadn't talked more about their new relationship since Kakashi had left them alone again, and that had been well over four hours ago. Usually, Sasuke wouldn't have given a fuck about anyone's secret rendezvous but since it was Neji and Kiba—he had a great desire to know. Neji glanced at him sideways.

"That's none of your business at the moment,"

"Sore topic?"

Neji's head moved in what could only be assumed as a slight nod.

Sasuke shrugged and tried to push his questioning mind away. It was a bad idea. It made him look at the situation more pessimistically, thinking of all theworst scenarios possible.

He felt his throat clog up a bit and swallowed hard.

"It wasn't even that bad," Neji said suddenly, turning and facing Sasuke. "I just feel demeaned by what happened. That's why I don't want to tell you, of all people,"

Sasuke nodded. "Right,"

"Sorry,"

Sasuke shook his head, but didn't say anything. He suddenly wasn't in the mood for thinking about Neji. Or being with Neji. All of a sudden he wanted to be alone.

_But maybe _his mind said. _You should _try _being around someone when you're brooding over Itachi. It could prove to be a better experience. _

"Sasuke?" Neji touched Sasuke's shoulder lightly, looking around a bit to see if anyone was around to see his gesture of affection. There was no one familiar around, but he was still slightly worried as Sasuke took his hand, held it for a moment, then let it go.

He said nothing.

Neji tried not to question it for a moment.

"I'm sorry,"

"It's not you," Sasuke replied readily, glancing up at Neji from beneath the jet black hair that was hanging in front of his eyes. "It's just…a phase. I go through it occasionally,"

Neji didn't say anything for a while, and Sasuke could practically hear the Hyuuga's mind whirring. He wouldn't be surprised if Neji knew what he was suddenly bitter over.

Neji nodded—_bingo, _Sasuke thought—and said; "I would be like that if I were in your place,"

"I heard your family wasn't that great either,"

Neji's mouth became a thin line. "It's alright now. I've come to my senses,"

"But what did you used to think?" Sasuke asked, even though he kind of knew. Everyone, even though he personally hadn't been there, had seen how Neji wanted Hinata dead more than anything. Naruto had hastily filled Sasuke in during one of his forced "catch up sessions" that had been imposed on the team by Kakashi. Even though the information was weak and even more weakly linked together and recalled by Naruto, Sasuke had gotten the gist.

"Can we not?" Neji said, his eyes somewhat angry. "Let's just drop this whole topic,"

"Fine," Sasuke said. He exhaled loudly. "Let's do something else then,"

"Like what?"  
"Like this," Sasuke said, giving Neji a whisper of a kiss on the corner of his mouth.

The night that followed was one that was plagued with the dreams of stuff that Sasuke couldn't comprehend. He couldn't see anything, but he could hear the blur of voices as they melted together. They were telling him that soon he was going to leave the village in pursuit of greater power.

* * *

_**Five weeks later**_

Sasuke hadn't wanted to, but now he had to. He hated himself for it. He was too power hungry, which was what was making him leave. He rubbed his neck, his fingers passing over the patch of skin where Orochimaru had given him a curse seal. Even if he hadn't left, that alone would've been a constant reminder of how he could've become stronger, but he didn't.

A lost opportunity.

But right now, it was an open opportunity. And he knew he should act on it as soon as possible, for the best results, and for his own self satisfaction.

And that meant he only had a limited amount of time.

Lately, he'd avoided people like Naruto and Sakura as much as he could. He tried to spend more time with Neji, with whom he'd made tireless efforts to act normal around. Neji had a sharp mind that could match his own, which meant the slightest hint at the envy and spite he had for Naruto and that he was going to leave because of that would create instant suspicions that wouldn't rest until Neji had them uncovered.

Which would be very, very bad.

As Sasuke waited for Neji to arrive at his house, he wondered if they should do it again. They had done it once before, a fortnight ago, and, more than anything, it had hurt like hell. The two were completely unexperienced and uneducated in such a department. Their bodies just didn't _fit _together. Sasuke admit that it had been awkward, but it had also been quite the experience. It brought a small, shy smile to his lips whenever he thought about it. Neji's body had been smooth all over—duh—but despite what he'd thought it was not blemish-free. It had bruises just beneath the chest area. He'd gently brushed his fingers against them and Neji had pushed them away.

"Don't touch them," he'd said between his heavy breaths. His hair had been untied ages ago, and the loose strands resting sexily against his pale skin. "They hurt,"

"In that case…," Sasuke reached for them again, but Neji caught his hand .

"Seriously," he said, swallowing at the end of his words. _Did him fucking me really knock him _that _breathless?_ "It does,"

Sasuke's temple pounded at the memory.

_Am I really going to do this? _

_Of course. This is your future we're talking about. Just imagine the power you will receive. _

_But what about Neji? _

_There are plenty of people like him for you out there. It may take some time, but you'll find anoth—_

"Hey," Neji closed the door behind him as he came in. He looked immaculate as always in a clean outfit. "Why the sudden meeting?"

Sasuke took a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing his tear ducts not to produce anything yet. Neji immediately caught on to the tense atmosphere and furrowed his brow in worry.

"Neji…,"

He choked on his words. He couldn't say them. Especially to Neji. Heck, if it was Naruto it'd been over as soon as the blonde walked into his house but this was his…_boyfriend. _His _first_ boyfriend.

"What?"

Sasuke stood up unsteadily, wrapped his arms around Neji and pressed the Hyuuga's body against his own. Tight. He rested his head on one shoulder and closed his eyes again, trying to remember the feeling. The feeling of the other boy's body for what it was: he didn't want to remember it the way he _thought _it was: that is, sexy, but remember it the way that it really was. It was like when a painter is told to paint an egg, they should paint exactly what they see when they look at an egg, and not some generic egg. Sasuke wanted to remember how Neji's body was taut, the skin tight yet soft over the muscle beneath. How his chest looked kind of skinny beneath that shirt he always wore but when you felt it you knew it was as toned as anybody's.

Neji didn't know what to do for a while, so he just put one hand on Sasuke's back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"Sasuke…," he prompted gently.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. He buried his face into the fabric of Neji's shirt. Even though his voice was muffled, Neji heard every word he said.

"I love you,"

Neji's heart shot into his throat. He glanced downwards at Sasuke, who was still on his shoulder. He smiled and closed his eyes, rubbing Sasuke's back with a thumb.

"Yeah…," he said slowly. "I…I guess I love you too,"

* * *

Sasuke avoided thinking about Neji as he began to walk through the silent streets of Konoha. But the more you avoided thinking about something, the more you thought about it. Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut and swore at himself. He was about to punch a nearby tree when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Sasuke," Sakura said, her voice laced with concern and suspicion. "Where are you going?"


End file.
